Pictured in this 2012 file photo, the 2012 Academic All-Stars back row from left are Philip Kaul, Matthew Kelso, Derek Moore, Ruben Ghijsen, Ally Bristol and Parker Riley. Front row from left are Anne Reed-Weston, Louis Joslyn, Charis Fisher and Adam Brien.

Each year, the Journal-World reaches out to the Academic All-Stars from 10 years ago to see what they’ve been up to since high school. Here’s what some of the members of the 2012 class had to say.

Louis Joslyn graduated from Baldwin High School with plans to attend Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, to major in math and play soccer. He hoped to work in the math or science fields.

Where are you and what do you do 10 years later?

After earning bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and computer science at Simpson College, where he also played varsity soccer, Joslyn received his PhD in bioinformatics from the University of Michigan. He now lives in San Francisco and works as a scientist at Genentech, a drug development company, where he develops mathematical models of cancer immunotherapies.

What is your advice to the class of 2022?

“I’ll reiterate some advice I was once told – ‘chance favors a prepared mind’. We can’t control everything in our day to day lives and we definitely cannot control the types of opportunities that come our way. But if you’re prepared when the right opportunity presents itself, you can take full advantage. While this isn’t advice, I’d also like to say I’m inspired by this class of 2022 – their clear commitment to academics in the face of a pandemic during their high school studies is admirable.”

photo by: contributed

11/16/18 Microbiology and Immunology Dept. staff Head-shots.

Charis Fisher graduated from Perry-Lecompton High School with plans to attend Washburn University to major in nursing with a minor in French horn performance.

Where are you and what do you do 10 years later?

Fisher is now a nurse working in the cardiac catheterization laboratory in New York City at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

What is your advice to the class of 2022?

“My advice would be to take advantage of every opportunity! Move away and try something new. Travel as much as you can!”

photo by: contributed

Charis Fisher

Phillip Kaul graduated from De Soto High school with plans to attend the University of Kansas to major in music education. He hoped to be a high school band instructor.

Where are you and what do you do 10 years later?

Kaul earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from KU, graduating summa cum laude. He taught fifth through 12th grade band for two years at Perry-Lecompton High School, and for the past four years has been the assistant band director at De Soto High School. At De Soto, he teaches marching band, concert band, jazz band, ACT Prep, and is the assistant Scholars Bowl coach. He was selected as the De Soto High School representative in the Kansas Teacher of the Year program for 2021-22.

What is your advice to the class of 2022?

“Take advantage of opportunities to surround yourself with people that are doing what you want to do, and remember that every experience is what you make of it. The connections and relationships you make as you start your post-high school life will be the building blocks of your future success. Nobody succeeds on their own, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it!”

photo by: contributed

Phillip Kaul

Parker Riley graduated from De Soto High School with plans to attend college and major in computer science. He hoped to work as a software engineer or computer security professional.

Where are you and what do you do 10 years later?

After earning his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Kansas, he went on to earn a PhD in computer science from the University of Rochester. He now lives in Mountain View, California., where he works as a researcher at Google, primarily on machine translation.

What is your advice to the class of 2022?

“College is a great time to meet new people and broaden your horizons, so be sure to take advantage of that opportunity.”

photo by: contributed

Parker Riley

Matthew Kelso graduated from Eudora High School with plans to attend Kansas State University and pursue a degree in animal science with an emphasis in pre-veterinary medicine.

Where are you and what do you do 10 years later?

After earning a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Kansas State University, where he graduated magna cum laude, Kelso went on to veterinary school to earn his doctor of veterinary medicine and certificates in public health core concepts and food animal veterinary. He now lives in Atchison, where he works as an associate veterinarian at Cedar Ridge Veterinary Clinic. His professional interests include bovine reproduction and small ruminant and small animal internal medicine.

What is your advice to the class of 2022?

“The only constant in life is change — and graduating high school is just the first of many changes soon coming. Lean into the changes and be open to where your journey takes you. Best of luck!”

photo by: contributed

Matthew Kelso

The Journal-World was unable to reach 2012 honorees Adam Brien, Allison Bristol, Anne Reed-Weston, Ruben Ghijsen and Derek Moore.